Boosting food safety
Improving food quality and safety is the goal of the EU-funded MONIQA (Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the food supply chain) project, which started recently. With the rise of globalisation, more and more foods and food products are being traded around the world. Ensuring that these foods are of a high quality and safe to eat when they reach the consumer requires reliable food analysis techniques. However, different countries currently use different methods to test foods for the presence of harmful substances in food. The MONIQA project aims to make the food chain safer by harmonising the methods used to analyse food for safety and quality. The project partners will create a virtual laboratory outlining details of food safety issues and the various food testing and analysis methods in use. Through this the researchers will be able to exchange data and knowledge, helping them to develop common strategies which could form the basis of new standards in food quality and safety. By implementing joint research programmes and promoting exchanges of researchers between the partners, the project partners hope to develop solutions which will be acceptable to consumers, manufacturers and regulatory bodies as well as other groups involved in the food chain. The researchers will also investigate the food quality and safety implications of new processing technologies, and identify future research needs. In the long term, the consortium hopes that the project will form the basis of a network of food safety and quality experts, which will continue to exist long after the initial project has come to an end. The MONIQA project is coordinated by the Vienna-based International Association for Cereal Science and Technology, and is set to receive just over €12 million from the Sixth Framework Programme's 'Food Quality and Safety' budget.